My Little Breadmakers

Journaling: Straight out of bed, hair still matted, the kids rush downstairs to make their bread so it will be ready for lunchtime. Unlike store-bought bread, this recipe has just eight simple ingredients that are easy for preschoolers to remember. And there's nothing like the smell of fresh bread emanating from the kitchen to tell us that it's almost ready! They get to learn the science of baking and how yeast is a living organism that works with the other ingredients to make that fluffy brown treat. Often, I'll “forget” an ingredient or two and they will have to remind me what we're missing. After we're done adding the ingredients, they giggle as the paddle wiggles the ball of dough around the sides of the machine.
Of course, some of the raw ingredients end up in their mouths. It doesn't matter how dry and tasteless it is, they just can resist trying a pinch. But like it says in the book of Deuteronomy, “Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain.” Likewise, I figure that they should have a little taste while they work.
We've stuck to the basic recipe so far. Perhaps soon we'll start to experiment with different ingredients. First, I'll have to teach them the concept of risk – balancing the fear of disappointment against the possibility of discovering something new. No, wait, that's me that has to learn that. We'll see where it leads! Here's our classic favorite: